Paul Finebaum is high on Big Ten, begrudgingly credits Jim Harbaugh

Paul Finebaum stepped out of his normal persona on Sunday and said something extremely out of character.

In a rare moment of praise for a league and a coach he regularly knocks, the ESPN personality issued a couple of compliments to the Big Ten and Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh.

“For the record, I’m contractually inhibited from saying good things about the Big Ten,” Finebaum joked on The ESPN College Football Podcast. “But it’s the most exciting league in college football right now. There are so many dynamic stories.”

The Big Ten currently has four undefeated teams in Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State, plus a young Ohio State team overflowing with talent that has looked much better in recent weeks after losing to Oregon and struggling to get by Tulsa.

One of the biggest stories out of the conference this season is what Harbaugh is doing in Ann Arbor. Now in his seventh year at Michigan and following a tumultuous offseason filled with hot seat rumors and ultimately a contract renegotiation, Michigan is 5-0 and coming off a commanding 38-17 win over Wisconsin. 

“We have finally found a pulse on Jim Harbaugh’s body,” Finebaum said. “I will not quibble with what Harbaugh has done, but there are a lot of coaches beating their chest right now about having destroyed Wisconsin this year, so let’s not get too carried away. But it all starts now. They finally have a marquee game this weekend, and I think it is going to be a wild ride.”

Michigan travels to Nebraska on Saturday to face a 3-3 team trending up. After losing to Illinois to start the season, the Cornhuskers have handily beaten Fordham, Buffalo and Northwestern. The more impressive aspect of their resume is their close losses, a 7-point defeat in Norman and a 3-point defeat in East Lansing. Both Michigan State and Oklahoma are undefeated. 

The Nebraska faithful will show up rain or shine, good season or terrible season, so Michigan has a tough test in front of them. But for now, Finebaum is complimentary of the Wolverines.

“Every year it was a different gimmick… I hit the reboot every year, and you have to be objective about Jim Harbaugh. And he’s done a really good job, and I haven’t said that since he was in San Francisco I don’t think.”

Michigan is a 3.5-point favorite over the Cornhuskers. The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.